Vietnamese rice exporters have won contracts to export 410,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines, the Vietnam Food Association (Vietfood) said.
The Philippines' National Food Authority announced the winners of the rice contracts last Wednesday.

The authority said it would buy 460,000 tonnes of rice from abroad, of which 410,000 tonnes would come from Vietnam and 50,000 tonnes from Thailand.
Vietfood said Vietnam's South Food Corporation would ship 200,000 tonnes of rice.

Six other domestic rice exporters would provide the remaining 210,000 tonnes.

Last year, the Philippines imported 875,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam and Thailand.

This year, the country expects to import 810,000 tonnes from them.

Vietnam expected to export from 3.3 to 3.5 million tonnes of rice in total this year, less than the 3.9 million tonnes it exported last year, the Ministry of Trade said.

The ministry warned that competition between leading global rice exporters was increasing.